Don’t skirt security checks, airport passengers told

Passengers gather at the lobby of the Kalibo International Airport in Kalibo, Aklan, in this undated photo. No passenger is exempted from the security and safety inspections at the airport, the gateway manager says. KIA / FACEBOOK

KALIBO, Aklan – No passenger is exempted from the security and safety inspections at the Kalibo International Airport, the gateway manager stressed.

Assistance desks manned by medical and emergency responders have been set up at the arrival and departure areas to aid passengers.

Security personnel were deployed to strategic areas in the gateway to make sure protocols are being enforced, said airport manager Engr. Eusebio Monserate Jr.

The airport management expects tourists bound for other provinces and the island resort of Boracay to flood the gateway during the holidays.

The Office of Transport Security and the Aviation Security Group sent out additional security personnel. K9 units will be detailed at the airport, too.

All these measures are part of the airport management’s “Oplan Biyaheng Ayos.”

Monserate reminded the passengers not to ignore initial and final inspections despite the expected queues.

“Come early for check-in and be responsible for your belongings. All passengers are required to undergo security and safety checks,” he stressed.

To ensure that their booths and the assistance desks are adequately manned, no airport personnel were allowed to take a day off or leave until the holiday season is over, said Monserate.

The Kalibo International Airport is one the busiest airports in the region.

Aside from domestic flights to and from Manila and Cebu, it also offers international flights to and from mainland China, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore. (Aklan Forum Journal/PN)